CND Shellac Nails

Published Apr 19, 2011

CND Shellac Nails

14-Day Wear With Zero Dry Time-Too Good To Be True?

While in New York last week, part of the Beautylish team went to Bliss Spa on 57the Street to try the CND Shellac manicure. A Shellac manicure involves a UV base coat, two coats of CND Shellac colored polish, and a UV top coat. Your hands are left in a UV lamp drier for about 20 seconds in between each coat. A bit skeptical of the claims that the polish could last for 14 days without any chipping, we walked in without expectations.

CND Shellac offers a range of subtle and bright colors to choose from for the color coat. Victoria picked a rich grape purple (Rock Royalty) while Christina went for a shimmery coral (Iced Coral). Our first choice was a baby pink with a gray undertone (Beau) but our manicurist warned that Beau tends to peel off when used under the UV lamp and advised against it.

Overall, the Shellac manicure process was quick and the results were lovely. Our nails were super shiny and felt rock hard by the time we left the spa (no more smudging when you fumble around in your bag for cash or keys!).

By the next day, Victoria's manicure still looked flawless, but the tips of Christina's nails had started chipping. Fortunately, Iced Coral was a light shade so the flaws were undetectable to everyone else. Even after a day of opening boxes and moving things around, the polish didn't budge and still shone brightly.

Since you can only have Shellac polish applied in a salon with a UV lamp, this isn't something I would want done on my nails on a weekly basis. You'll also need to head back to the salon to get the polish removed with 100% acetone, which can be a hassle. However, Shellac is a good investment (it costs about double the price of a regular manicure) before a special occasion or vacation getaway. And if you're worried about chips while on holiday, choose a light color polish like Christina did, so any flaws would be unnoticeable.

To find a salon near you that offers the CND Shellac Manicure, check out CND's Salon Finder. Stay tuned for our article about the differences between Shellac, Minx and Calgel nails this week!